Chris Baker

Background

About Chris Baker

My motivation in the choosing the work I do has always had a basis of being in service to humanity and caring for our planet. Back when I first joined the Institution of Engineers the key tenet of the code of ethics was that the first loyalty of a professional engineer is to the community. This has been somewhat watered down these days but for me it’s still a guiding principle. This has developed over the span of my working life starting with civil engineering design and construction management and planning. I moved on to develop civil engineering software for Macintosh for design and construction of highways, roads, channels, dams and marine works. This software was sold in 42 countries and made available in 7 different languages. In 2001 my late wife, Sue, became ill with cancer and I stopped developing my work to spend the next 4 years caring for her until her death in 2005. While my staff kept the software business going no significant development work was done during that time. After Sue’s death I took sabbatical for a number of years, travelling and living on my trimaran Current Sunshine. So named because I converted her to run entirely on renewable energy (as opposed to ancient sunshine stored in fossil fuels). This evolved into a business where I provided other boat owners with equipment and technical support for electric mobility. This time fired my interest in renewable energy and the possibilities of the use of renewables in the broader societal context. I moved from my boat to a sustainable community on the Sunshine Coast where I became interested in pumped hydro for the possibilities it presented to for use within the local community. As I developed my skills in this area I came to realise the critical importance of large scale storage for the Australian electricity grid with a high renewable content. While I am still slightly in electro-mobility, since 2016 my primary work has been in pumped hydro development in three main areas: 1. selection of suitable sites (my experience in civil engineering and terrain modelling software has proved crucial) 2. detailed operational modelling of specific projects and interaction between various renewable energy flows, pumped hydro, and hydrogen production 3. developing a revenue model which ensures bankability of projects Currently I am deeply involved in strategic decision making and technology development. I live in Samford with my wife Deb and our extended family of daughters, grandchildren and in laws, two dogs, 13 chooks and various swamp hens, ducks and other feathered visitors.